The Incident
by dianesmalone
Summary: Sam and Diane get in a fight and don't speak for the rest of her shift. That is until something terrible happens to Diane. Set in season five when they're back together.


Diane stands in Sam's office, tapping her foot on the wooden floor. He was speaking to her but it was all going in one ear and out the other, she didn't want to listen to him. The ex-jock was pushing her buttons and she had just about had it with him. "You have no reason to be mad about this so I didn't tell you about the game. I don't tell you about a lot of things" he snaps.  
Sam's face was beginning to fill with red as the anger bubbled inside him. She could really be a lot to handle sometimes. So what he didn't mention to her that he was going to be out for the weekend with some buddies? Did it really matter that much? It made no sense to him and her getting upset only fueled his annoyance more.  
The blonde glares at him and brings her hands to her hips, "Oh! Oh that's exactly what your fiancée wants to hear Sam! This is what I'm saying! You don't tell me things! I'm going to be your wife and you won't share the simplest things with me! Let alone trying to get you to open up is like trying it get Poe to stop drinking!" She fumes.  
"Hey I got that one!" He shouts and points his finger at her. She was being ridiculous for absolutely no reason. So he didn't mention simple things, but that meant nothing. Sam wasn't understanding why it was such a big deal to her.  
"Ah so the gears are working in there!" She remarks in a shocked tone. Now she was crossing into a territory of making remarks she would regret later. They were letting themselves get caught up in the heat of the moment. Things would have to be patched up but that wasn't happening anytime soon.  
"Don't don't you act like that" Sam demands and puts his hands on his hips. The blood was really starting to pump through his veins as the annoyance begin to come to point where it was about to burst. Though Sam wasn't going to do anything except throw words around, he couldn't help but let the anger get to him. He did have a slight temper problem but it wasn't anything that couldn't be handled if the two of them walked away.  
That's exactly what Diane does, she looks at him and shakes her head. "I'm done talking to you. When you get your head out of your ass and you're ready to let me explain why you're wrong then you know where to find me" she huffs. The blonde then turns around swiftly on one heel, opens the door to his office, and promptly marches away from her fiancé. Though things had slightly fizzled down Diane was still upset with him and didn't plan on talking to him for the rest of the night. She'd simply ignore his presence like he wasn't even there.  
Sam could be really frustrating at times. It was hard when he was just about as stubborn as she was and neither one of them wanted to listen to the other. Diane didn't understand why he couldn't see where she was coming from. Why was it so hard for him to share with her simple things? Was it so hard for him to say "hey babe, going out with friends this weekend so I won't be around to go to the art exhibit with you. Sorry maybe another time"? She couldn't understand. The blonde certainly didn't want to hear anything else out of him.  
The bar owner steps out of his office after about another few minutes of sitting back and thinking about their fight. He looks across the bar and sees his fiancée cleaning up one of the tables. Part of him felt bad but the other didn't. There were some things in his life that he didn't feel like sharing or times when he forgot to share and that was something she didn't understand.  
The pair spends the rest of the night not speaking to each other. Though they both don't keep their eyes off each other. Sam spends most of the night watching Diane swiftly walk through the bar, taking orders from Woody and cleaning up tables as she went. He was longing for her if he was honest. He didn't like when they fought and he hated when she was mad at him. Though yes, Sam was still upset with her he wanted to resolve this. He preferred when they were all over each other and annoying everyone at the bar.

Diane on the other spends the night watching Sam when she knew he wasn't looking. Watching him prepare drinks or laugh at something Woody had said. Oh she hated it when they fought, she couldn't stay mad at him. But she was too stubborn to go say anything to him so they'd have to work this out at a later time. That would have to be when both of them had cooled down, perhaps when her shift was over.  
By the end of the night it was just Diane, Woody, and Sam. Woody and Sam were counting up the profits for the night while Diane finishes cleaning up tables and pushing chairs back into place. The bar was silent and though Diane was no longer as mad as she was earlier with Sam, she still didn't want to speak with him. Perhaps tomorrow she would be willing to but not tonight.  
After wiping down her last table, Diane walks over to the bar and sets down the rag. She then takes out the notepad and pen, setting those down along with her now untied apron. Letting out a quiet sigh she looks up at the two men behind the bar. They were still counting away, neither one of them paying any attention. "I'm off for the night. Goodnight" she states and turns away from the bar.  
As she begins to walk away from them a voice finally speaks but it wasn't the one she was hoping for. "Goodnight Miss Chambers" Woody says.  
Diane looks down for a second before walking toward the door, she was hoping that Sam would at least say goodnight to her. He must've really been upset. To her surprise however, his voice finally comes "Goodnight Diane" he adds. Though it was just a goodnight, it was something. She slightly smiles before stepping out of the bar and into the cold night.  
Sam finally looks up as he hears the door open and he watches her walk all the way out and up the steps. He sighs a little and shakes his head before looking back down. Maybe she was right about this whole thing, he wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that he needed to go to her place when they were done here and apologize. Even if he didn't see her way he knew he had treated her horribly tonight and he wanted to make up for that. Sam wanted to be a better fiancé for her, a better man. He had been trying hard and was definitely improving; this was just a setback.  
Woody then speaks again, "everything alright Sam?" He asks as the two of them finish up.  
The bar owner shakes his head, he didn't want to talk about it really but hit wouldn't hurt to say that something was wrong. "Nah Diane and I just got into a fight earlier. We haven't spoken all day" he replies.  
Before Woody can even respond to that, a loud and high pitched scream comes from outside. Right away Sam knew whose scream it was. "Diane!" He shouts. Sam doesn't even take a second to consider, he grabs onto the bar and jumps over it; immediately running out the door and up the stairs.  
There Diane stood frozen, in the arms of a man who looked to be in about his forties. He was wearing a black beanie, an oversized grey sweater, and blue jeans. One of his arms was around Diane's waist while the other one was covering her mouth since she had screamed. Sam could see the pure terror in her face and that made him see red. He runs over to the two and pulls the larger man off of her. This guy was definitely bigger than Sam, he would probably get his ass beaten if it weren't for the adrenaline pumping through his veins. "Diane go back inside! Lock the door!" He demands.  
Hearing his words, she nods and quickly runs back down the steps and into the bar. Diane makes sure that the door is closed and locked then she presses herself right up against it. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes and her breathing wouldn't slow down. Her whole body was trembling, traumatized by what had happened. She feared for Sam too, she didn't want him to get hurt.  
Sam was still seeing red, he couldn't wrap his head around this creep getting anywhere near her. "What the hell do you think you're doing huh?! You have no right to touch a woman like that!" He shouts in the mans face.  
The man in the beanie stares blankly at him, not a care in the world for what he had just done to her. "Come on you saw what she was wearing! She's a whore! She was asking for it!" He protests. Those words anger Sam more, his face turns red and his knuckles turn white as he clenches both fists hard. He winds his fist back and punches the man standing before him flat in the face. "Don't you ever talk about my fiancée like that ever again!" Sam roars. He had never been this angry ever but he was not going to let anyone hurt her.  
Fists fly between the two men for several minutes until the man in the black beanie is on the ground. Sam then gets down to one knee and grabs him by the collar, he was still conscious even after the force Sam out into the punches. "Don't you ever come back here again. If I ever see you bothering anyone again, especially my girl I'll kill ya" he threatens before dropping the mans collar, standing up, and going back toward the bar.  
The door handle begins to jiggle suddenly and Diane's heart begins to race quicker than it already was. She wasn't looking up to see that it was just Sam, the thought of it being her attacker terrified her. Diane keeps her head down as she holds herself, siting on one of the barstools with Woody. He had been comforting her as the two of them sat together. She hadn't said a word since she came back in. What was she to say? Woody then slides off the bar stool and she finally looks up, spotting her fiancé through small glass window at the top of the door. Relief washes over her and her nerves calm a little.  
Though a little more calm, she just wanted to start sobbing but she wasn't going to do that in front of Woody. As much as she loved him she didn't feel comfortable crying in front of him. He then unlocks and opens the door for Sam, the light revealing his bruised and slightly bloodied face and hands.  
As soon as she sees him, Diane jumps up from her barstool and rushes over to him. They embrace each other in a long hug; silence filling the air once again. "I'll leave you two be" Woody whispers. With that, he walks out of the bar.  
Diane's eyes pool with tears and start to stream down her cheeks as she stands there in his arms. When she pulls away, she quickly wipes them before looking at Sam. She brings one hand up to his face and gently rubs her thumb over one of the many bruises, causing him to wince. "You're insane" she whispers and shakes her head.  
He looks at her with worry in his eyes, "Diane are you okay?" Sam questions and takes her hand into his sore and bloodied one.  
She looks down, her heart sinking at the thought of what had happened to her. "Don't worry about me. Come on let's get your hands cleaned up" Diane murmurs as she looks at his bloodied fists. She wasn't sure if she wanted to talk about what happened, knowing she would break down.  
He watches as she avoids his eyes, her hands trembling in his. He knew how afraid she was and he wanted nothing more than make her feel safe again. Instead of protesting he just lets her take him to his office to get bandaged up.  
As the two of them sit on his desk silence fills the air around them while she wipes down his hands. "Diane... I'm sorry for the way acted earlier today. This is all my fault, I shouldn't have been so stubborn" he admits.  
"Don't say that" she objects as she wraps up both of his hands in gauze. Diane didn't want him to blame himself. What had happened to her wasn't his fault. The blonde then looks up at him and says just that, "what happened isn't your fault."  
Sam looks up at her and sighs, turning himself more toward her. He could see the pain in her eyes and it killed him. He absolutely hated it when she was upset, or sad, or in any kind of pain. He wanted to be able to take it all away from her even though he knew he couldn't. "I just want to keep you safe.." Sam whispers.  
Her heart aches in her chest, this whole situation was awful. Their fight and her attack, why did any of this have to happen? Diane was going to respond but as she looks down and overwhelming urge to cry washes over her. It was only seconds before the blonde bursts into tears. She begins sobbing uncontrollably, her whole body beginning to shake.  
As soon as she the tears begin to flow, Sam takes her into his arms. He doesn't say a word to her; he just holds her in his arms and lets her soak his plaid button down shirt. Rubbing her back as she sobs in his arms, the bar owner closes his eyes and quietly sighs. He wished he could take the pain away from her. Sam couldn't imagine what Diane was going through.  
Diane felt as though she was being overdramatic but the thought doesn't stop the sobbing. She presses her face against his chest and grabs onto Sam's shirt, holding it tightly in a balled up fist. She knew that nothing more had happened to her other than being grabbed by some creep but it was one of the scariest things she had ever experienced. What if he had had a weapon on him? He could've killed her right there or prevented her from screaming. What if Sam had left before her? Woody too? Who knows what could've happened to her. The thought terrified her. Not only that but being grabbed and touched in such a way by another human being was mortifying. She felt degraded, as if she wasn't a human too.  
The sobs begin to die down after several more minutes and the blonde finally lets go of her fiancé's shirt. "I'm sorry" she mutters. Diane then suddenly pulls away from his tear stained shirt and gets up from the desk. She wipes her eyes and fixes her skirt, "Goodnight Sam" she murmurs and walks toward the door. She wanted to flee. To go home and forget this day ever even happened. Though his arms were extremely comforting to her she still felt embarrassed. It was silly, he was going to be her husband and Diane knew she could cry in front of him but she felt like an idiot for doing so just now. She was letting her brain over analyze all of this.  
When Diane pulls away from him and mutters that she was sorry it puzzles Sam. He becomes more confused when she gets off the desk and goes for the door. The bartender quickly gets up from his place on the desk and stops her from opening the door. He thinks about putting his hand on her shoulder for a moment but decides against it, not wanting it to scare her since he wasn't letting her go. "Don't be sorry... but it's not safe for you to be out there alone" he points out. He waits for her to respond and when she doesn't he follows up with, "let me take you home... please. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something else happens" Sam whispers.  
It takes Diane a moment to muster up the will to speak again. She wasn't afraid of his presence behind her, in fact she felt comforted. He was probably the person she trusted more than anything. She was still trying to regain her composure after falling apart like that. "Okay.." she complies.  
With that the two of them walk out of his office, across the bar, and out the front door. Sam had his arm around her and was carefully checking their surroundings as they walked to his car. Hers would just have to stay here for the night. He didn't mind bringing her to the bar tomorrow.  
Fifteen minutes later, Diane opens the door to her apartment and steps to the side. She sets down her keys and steps out of her heels. Today had surely been one hell of a day and finally stepping out of those shoes was a relief. It took just the tiniest bit of weight off of her.  
Sam stands in front of her now closed door and watches her as she relieves a little stress. He wasn't sure if he should go just yet. Perhaps a hug and kiss goodnight and then he would be off. "Well then goodnight sweetheart" he says as Diane sets aside her shoes. Sam steps forward a little so that they could hug goodnight then he'd leave. He wanted to stay, it wasn't like he wanted to leave but he figured she wanted to be alone after the day she had been through.  
The blonde looks at him and feels her stomach start to twist up and her hands slightly beginning to shake. She was afraid to be alone, there was no way he could leave. "Sam..." she sniffles as her eyes begin to water again. "Will you.. will you stay here tonight? I don't think I can be alone" Diane admits, her voice becoming wobbly. God she felt silly for asking. She was Diane Chambers, she could handle just about anything. Yet here she was feeling so frail and vulnerable. She just wanted to be held by him, it felt like the only thing that would help.  
Sam listens to how her voice starts to wobble and notices her eyes start to water. His heart aches and he pulls her into his arms, "of course I will sweetheart. Don't cry.. it's alright I'm not goin anywhere" he whispers.  
It takes her a few seconds but she regains her composure and pulls away from his embrace. Diane then grabs his hand and brings Sam over to her bedroom.  
Soon, the two of them were laying in bed together; his arms were around her slim waist. Her face was pressed up against the crook of his neck. One arm of hers rested on his chest while the other wrapped around his upper torso. Diane pulls away for a moment, pulling herself up on her knees a little, and looks at his face in the dimly lit room. Her lamp on the bedside table was the only thing lighting up the room. She moves her hand from his chest and brings it up to his cut and bruised face. The blonde was gentle as she pressed her dainty hand against one cheek. She didn't know how much pain he was in and didn't want to make it worse.  
Sam watches as she moves and presses her hand to his cheek. "What is it?" He questions as she stares into his cool grey eyes with her electric blue ones.  
Diane shakes her head, part of her wanted to scold him for fighting that man. He could've gotten himself seriously hurt and she wouldn't ever forgive herself for that. A much larger part of her though was thankful that someone was there to help her her away and stood up for her. God did she ever love it when he took charge. "I'm just glad that you're safe and that I have you. I love you" she whispers. Though today hadn't been their best day— they still had things to discuss that were never resolved, she was content. As content as she could be of course. Though his actions made her more confident in their relationship knowing that even when upset at each other they'd still protect each other. That showed her that he truly did love her. Diane already knew that to be true but his actions to prove it made her feel even better.  
He looks at her for a moment before replying, "you're always going to have me there to protect you even if you don't need it most of the time. I love you too." Sam knew that Diane was a strong woman, she most certainly wasn't some damsel in distress. She knew how to defend herself. She was probably the strongest person he knew.  
That makes a smile come across the blonde's face, god she loved him so much. Diane leans down and presses her lips against his. Sam's lips were soft and welcoming, she melts against him for a few seconds. They hadn't kissed all day and she hated when they fought and didn't get to annoy everyone in the bar with their affection. The kiss breaks after a few more seconds and the pair were smiling. Diane rubs her thumb along his cheek and then completely pulls away. Laying back down in the same position she was in before and hums, "Goodnight Sam" she whispers.

He smiles and puts his arms back around his fiancée. Today might've not gone well at all but he was glad he was here for her and the night at least ended on a more positive note. "Goodnight Diane" he whispers in return.

Note: reviews are always welcome. I also just want to say that this story was inspired the user Jessica Simpson-Bourget. The idea came from their one shot called "the imperfect stranger". I really love their work and I highly recommend checking them out!


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